Free agency opens Wednesday, and the Kings need a goalie

When the free agency period opens across the National Hockey League on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Kings will focus on, amongst other priorities, trying to secure a back-up goaltender.

In conversations with hockey operations, it has become clear that the Kings’ intention is to sign a “clear-cut” number two goalie, and not foster a competition similar to training camp in 2013 when the team acquired Ben Scrivens as part of the Jonathan Bernier trade and invited Mathieu Garon to training camp, with entrenched AHL starter Martin Jones getting a look, as well.

If the chips fall the Kings’ way this week and they are able to secure the services of a number two goalie via free agency, that would mean J.F. Berube would be likely to begin the season in AHL-Ontario.

Martin Jones, who backed up Jonathan Quick in 2014-15 and the second half of the 2013-14 season, was traded to Boston on Friday as part of the Milan Lucic trade. On Tuesday, he was traded from Boston to San Jose.

It’s unclear how the Kings’ approach to free agency has changed, or whether it has changed at all, since news broke yesterday that the team had decided to terminate Mike Richards’ contract.

Though Los Angeles has $62.05-million allotted to 17 players for the 2015-16 season – numbers that reflect the termination of Richards’ contract – it is not clear how much of the increased capital the team plans on spending, given the uncertainty over Slava Voynov’s ongoing legal process and “whether [Richards’] termination will withstand an inevitable legal challenge,” as described by TSN sports legal analyst Eric Macramalla on Forbes.com. Next year’s salary cap has been set at $71.4M; teams may have up to 23 players on their active roster.

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